Over 75 years of combined legal experience advocating debt resolution for our clients.
We look forward to earning your trust.

Credit Counseling Services and Credit Card Companies

Funding for Most Credit Counseling Services

Many credit counseling agencies have “not for profit” status, but are most often funded largely by the credit card banks and creditors to which the debt payments are distributed to. The credit counseling agencies receive contributions know as “Fair Share” for the amount that they recover from consumers (i.e. YOU).

Are these credit counseling agencies merely a collection agency for the credit card companies? While there is no direct affiliation, the organizing body – National Foundation of Credit Counseling – does consider credit card companies as one of their “primary constituents.” Their members collectively receive two-thirds of their funding from creditors. Based on this, it is evident that their loyalties could be split.

We Work Only for You

When you hire our firm, we will solely on your behalf and for your best interests. We have no third party affiliations or loyalties. We also offer free consultations with one of our licensed Michigan attorneys to discuss your best options for:

Debt resolution is our firm’s sole focus and we are ready to put our over 50 years of combined legal experience to work for you. Call us today at 866-261-8282 to speak to one of our licensed attorneys. We have six convenient office locations in: Detroit, Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Southfield, Flint or Warren, Michigan.

Research Your Debt Resolution Options:

We encourage clients to research any organization or company they intend to work with – Attorney or Credit Counseling Agency. Here is a checklist of important questions to ask according to the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov):

What services are offered?

Are you licensed to offer your services in my state?

Do you offer free information?

Will I have a formal written agreement or contract with you?

What are the qualifications of your counselors? Are they accredited or certified by an outside organization? If so, which one? If not, how are they trained?

Have other consumers been satisfied with the service that they received?

What are your fees? Are they set-up and/or monthly fees?

How are your employees paid? Are they employees or the organization paid more if I sign up for certain services, pay a fee, or make a contribution to your organization?

What do you do to keep personal information about your clients confidential and secure?

Answers From Acclaim Legal Services:

While this suggested FTC checklist was written for investigating credit counseling agencies, we believe it is a good checklist for other organizations you may be considering. Here is our firm’s response to that checklist:

Chapter 7 provides total debt elimination and court protection from your creditors if you do not have the ability to pay the debts back. Because this program instantly improves your debt-to-income ratio, it may be your first step towards improving your credit.

Are you licensed to offer your services in my state? All of our Attorneys are licensed with the State of Michigan and the Federal Bar Association. Our managing attorney, Christopher Jones, is certified as a Bankruptcy Specialist with the American Board of Certification.

Will I have a formal written agreement or contract with you? Yes. We have an agreement specific to our firm that clearly spells out our services to you.

What are the qualifications of your counselors? Are they accredited or certified by an outside organization? If so, which one? If not, how are they trained? All of our Attorney’s credentials are provided on our “Profile” page. As you will see, all of our Attorneys have extraordinarily high academic credentials and practice exclusively in bankruptcy law. Because we specialize in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 and do not take on cases in any other areas of law, all of our Attorneys have debt resolution as their expertise. Combined, our Attorneys share over 50 years of bankruptcy law experience!

Have other consumers been satisfied with the service that they received? Yes. Please read our “Testimonials” page. We also have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and have found that the majority of our clients come through referrals from our past clients, their friends, co-workers and family members.

What are your fees? Are they set-up and/or monthly fees? Our fees are paid directly in the case of a Chapter 7 or paid as a component of your reorganization Plan (through a court-appointed Trustee) in the Chapter 13 context. The fees are approved by the court and overseen by the Department of Justice. The amount of the fees will be discussed at your free initial consultation.

How are your employees paid? Our attorneys are paid on salary.

What do you do to keep personal information about your clients confidential and secure? You are protected by Attorney/Client privilege and we work for you, no one else. We do not share your information, sell client lists or disclose any document outside of what is required by the court. By law, our files and documents remain securely locked.

Receive a Free Debt Relief Evaluation

We encourage you call or e-mail us for a free consultation. We will evaluate your financial situation and provide you with options to improve it. We will provide you with an honest assessment of all avenues that are available to you and answer questions you may have regarding options you are exploring.

How Can WeHelp You?

We just received our discharge on our Chapter 13 bankruptcy today. I want to thank the staff at Acclaim for all the help given during the past 3 years. Everyone I have dealt with was very knowledgeable and gave concise answers to my questions and in timely manner.Again thank to the staff at…

Rob & Sarah

(Royal Oak, MI)

I truly wish that Chris and Cindy had been our legal team from the beginning. We did not know what to expect, we were very uneducated about the chapter 13 process.

Our attorney of record prior would not return email, calls and when I made appointments was not available to help or answer questions.…

John

(Macomb, Michigan)

Sorry this email is a long time coming. I would like to thank you for all you did for my wife and myself. You were always very prompt and informative whenever anything was needed. Many times I was scared and worried during that difficult time. You always helped out and made me feel more secure.…

Bob

(White Lake, MI)

Thank you for taking the time on Monday, to explain to me all the details of my case. I really learned a lot from our talk. There should be more people in the world like yourself to make time for others that don’t understand the legal/law side of business.

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